U.S. accuses couple of laundering $4.5 bln in Bitcoin tied to big 2016 hack

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Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch and Raphael Satter 2/8/2022

The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it has unraveled its biggest-ever cryptocurrency theft, seizing a record-shattering $3.6 billion in Bitcoin tied to the 2016 hack of digital currency exchange Bitfinex.

A husband-and-wife team of alleged money launderers was arrested in Manhattan on Tuesday morning, it added.

It was the Justice Department's biggest financial seizure, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, adding in a statement that it shows cryptocurrency is "not a safe haven for criminals."

Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Heather Morgan, 31, both New Yorkers, were scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court Tuesday at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They face charges of conspiring to commit money laundering as well as to defraud the United States. The case was filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C.

More: https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-arrests-couple-allegedly-laundering-45-bln-crypto-tied-bitfinex-hack-2022-02-08/

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Couple arrested in alleged $4.5 billion cryptocurrency laundering scheme

By Ben Feuerherd and Tamar Lapin
February 8, 2022

A married couple was busted in Manhattan on Tuesday for allegedly trying to launder roughly $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency stolen during a massive 2016 hack, federal prosecutors said.

Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and his rapper wife, Heather Morgan, 31, are accused of conspiring to wash the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were looted when a hacker breached the systems of virtual currency exchange Bitfinex.

The stolen cryptocurrency was allegedly transferred to a digital wallet controlled by Lichtenstein, who describes himself as a “Technology entrepreneur, coder and investor” on his LinkedIn account.

He and his wife — a self-professed “Serial Entrepreneur” and “surrealist rap” creator — then moved the funds to their accounts via “a complicated money laundering process,” prosecutors said.

The couple allegedly spent the illegal proceeds on things like gold, NFTs and a $500 Walmart gift card, according to the criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2022/02/08/couple-arrested-in-alleged-4-5-billion-cryptocurrency-laundering-scheme/

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